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Meet Maddie

Madeleine is a lawyer, writer, tech policy researcher, former federal election campaign manager, and Chief Problem Solver at circular economy powerhouse, Alchemy Global Solutions. She is also the sixth generation in a thriving family farm business and has worked with researchers, startups, and investors to develop tools and networks that support nature-positive management of farming landscapes.

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What is The Fellowship to you?

As someone who already works in the circular economy and sustainable farming sectors, I hoped that the Fellowship would offer insights into how Australia’s biggest venture accelerator was framing the Climate Tech ecosystem in ANZ and the big problems to be solved. I also wanted to meet some of the Founders trying to solve them, the Investors making it possible, and the Fellows hoping to lend their skills and energy to the cause.

The best word to describe the Fellowship is ENERGISING! It really exceeded expectations. The program was thoughtfully designed, covering all the topics I wanted to hear about (plus a few that weren’t on my radar), with a huge range of impressive speakers and mentors. Best of all, there was a culture that encouraged deep, collaborative learning and building pathways to real impact.

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What lessons did you learn from The Fellowship?

My main takeaway was rediscovering the joy of learning – throwing myself into a topic, tuning into the sessions each week, and even getting to host a panel session! – and finding that the by-product of that process was a huge amount of optimistic energy and a real sense of readiness to convert passion into action.

The Fellowship and the Startmate community have been great avenues for proactively building my network of Climate Tech leaders in ANZ and developing a curriculum for continued learning on the topics that piqued my interest: behaviour change, enhancing our connection to nature, and building circularity into the consumer purchasing experience.

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What area of climate tech are you most interested in?

I explored the Circular Economy and Nature-Positive Agriculture, focusing on two pressing questions that go to the heart of how we as humans can rebuild our culture to tread more gently on the Earth:

1. What tools and services are needed to help businesses, retailers, and manufacturers develop successful product trade-in and recycling programs?
2. How might we support consumers to make genuinely sustainable choices when purchasing food and textile products?

Ag has always captured my imagination, as an industry that is often demonised as a key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions but that is also uniquely positioned to improve biodiversity and carbon sequestration at a national scale. A key challenge is amplifying the work already being done and supporting producers with data, capital, and the right incentives.

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Reflection of the Fellowship?

Humanity faces an existential crisis. While it is tempting to lay this challenge on the shoulders of Governments, Industry, and Climate Tech founders, the climate crisis is a symptom of the way we live. Where I am focusing my energy now is on how I can account for my impact and support others to do the same. Inspired by a certain retro superhero, I developed this Consumer Impact Framework as part of the final showcase:

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I would recommend the Climate Tech Fellowship to anyone looking to build their network on their own terms, engage with big, scary Climate Tech challenges, and push themselves to meet new people and engage in deep learning.

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Psst. Apply for Cohort 3 of the Climate Tech Fellowship